Xi'an - The City Wall

Day one in Xi’an started with an early wake-up call, not from the front desk but from outside. First, where our hotel was located was very near to one of the Chinese government offices. Second, we were also very near a small park where people went early in the morning to do Tai Chi and dance for exercise. So, music starts playing about 6:30. Now, if the windows were not open it might not have been that bad but the rooms were stuffy and we had to have the windows open to get some air in the rooms. So, the music is fairly loud, not obnoxious but loud enough to wake you up from your slumber. I’m still not really certain if the music was for the changing of the guard, the flying of the flag or whatever. It really didn’t matter much, it woke you up (and played for 15 minutes so there was no falling back to sleep). Then the Bell Tower bells ring to let you know it’s time to get up (thanks for the “free” wake up call). Of course, in between the man-made noise; it’s the cooing of the stupid pigeons that were on the window sills of the apartment complex right next to the hotel. The people in these apartments obviously fed the flying rats and so they hung around waiting to get something to eat. All of this added up to an early start to the day. We were still tired from the day long venture to Xi’an but we got moving so we could grab breakfast and meet Jackie and Mr. Wang to get the day started.

Our itinerary for the first day was the city wall, bell tower, and then the terra cotta museum in the afternoon. We started out by driving over to the city wall. It was indicated to us that we could (if we wanted) ride bikes on the city wall. Now, I’m not afraid of some exercise but I wasn’t really keen on riding around on a bicycle on my vacation. However, along the way to the wall Jacky has his mind made up for us, you will get some exercise and ride around the city wall on bicycles. Huh!?!? When we arrived, he gave us some history on the city as we walked up the stairs to the top of the city wall. He showed us some interesting items about the wall, some of the logic behind the structure and the architecture and then more about when it was built. All the while, I’m snapping photos and listening while looking for another angle for a photo (say cheese). Then, we happen to walk by a bike rental place and Jackie indicates that here is where he says goodbye and he will wait for us while we ride around on the wall. How long is it around the wall? Oh, only 14.5 kms (ONLY 14.5!!!). So since there’s no backing out, we go ahead and rent the bikes for 100 minutes this was the standard rental time so I guess it’s enough time to complete the circuit..

Now a moment on the bikes…these are your daddy’s bikes. Seriously, the lady from the Wizard of Oz (you know, she turns into the wicked witch of the west….I’ll get you my pretty) had a bicycle that was more modern than these things. No shocks, no frills, no padding, squeaky brakes and just enough rust to make you wonder if it will last the trip. I haven’t ridden a bike for many, many years but I was able to get back on and get moving without killing myself (or anyone else) so we headed off.

So, 100 minutes to cover 14.5 kms…the math should’ve been obvious to me but for some reason it didn’t register until I got rolling. Perhaps I was still mulling over the bicycle ride in my mind and didn’t realize that I was actually doing this. I thought this was optional? We started the ride at about the halfway point on the North wall. The sky was probably as clear as it gets in Xi’an and the temperature was good for a ride so things could’ve been a lot worse. The kids take off with Tammy close behind and me stopping every 10-20 meters to take photos. Yeah, this was a good idea….NOT! I’m trying to take photos just to show the overall scope of the wall, the inner city, the moat around the wall and the modern city rising around the walls plus I wanted to grab images of some of the other things that interested me while on the ride. Hey, wait for me (Sqeak! Snap-snap! Rattle, rattle…okay so the sound effects don’t work well, try to image it, be the bicycle), I’ll be right there. It might surprise you to know that the city wall was erected during the Ming dynasty, which makes it pretty old. Of course there have been renovations, I’m sure the cable lights weren’t part of the original wall. So, if I had thought this through logically something might have occurred to me regarding the wall. It was about 1 km into the ride that it occurred to me that this wall wasn’t really meant for cycling. (Ta-Dah! Yes, I know, it’s an absolutely astute and dare I say brilliant assessment of the situation! Well done, Mr. Watson!) I know that you are dying to know how this thought came into my head. Well, it’s pretty simple, the blocks that made up the top of the wall weren’t really very level and the wear and tear on these blocks caused a great deal of unevenness between each block. So, combine a very uneven riding surface and a bicycle made in the 1940s with no seat padding and you’ve got a recipe for some jack hammering going on (please don’t squeeze the Charmin)…do I need to paint you a picture? As the ride went on (and on, and on) I would try and scan the area for photo opportunities plus have to swerve around on the wall to avoid the larger holes and find the “smoother path” and still try to keep an eye out for the family. When we finally got to the Northwest corner of the wall, I realized that we were in big trouble (or perhaps it was just me). It was clear to me that once you start, you really can’t just turn around and go back so we paused at the corner and then down the West wall we went.

There were many interesting sights to see on both sides of the wall, a few examples of those are listed below;
• There are parks on the outside of the wall all around the wall. People go into these parks to exercise with the “equipment” there. Nearly every time I looked, there were people on these contraptions that were obviously meant for exercise but I have no idea what they were called or when they might have been built.
• There was demolition going on in many areas inside the wall. Seeing 4-5 guys on top of a building with sledgehammers hitting the walls beneath them struck me as odd. One big swing of a wrecking ball would’ve taken the whole place down but that’s only a job for one person. This job involved a lot more people and therefore it was better to knock the building down brick-by-brick.
• People getting a haircut out on the street, the barber chairs were on the street and there they were….a little off the top please.

Just the sheer size of the wall was a surprise to me. When we were halfway through the ride, it seemed that the wall would never end. I kept looking ahead to see if the next building might be a sign that the corner was near (of course it never was). We stopped and took a break near the mid-point in the ride. Tammy and the boys actually stopped and waited for me to catch up and they had a Gatorade ready for me (I was huffing and puffing like an overweight smoker that just walked from the couch to the fridge for another beer and some pork rinds). We stopped for about 5 minutes and then, it was off to finish the ride (it was the mental challenge now, I think I can, I think I can..). I had started to become a little more finicky about the photos I took since if I kept at the current pace, we would never be done. It was a loooonnnngggg ride. The kids finished before Tammy and I and as you can imagine, we had to pay a little extra since we didn’t make the 100 minute curfew. I think it took us a little over 2 hours to make the trek around the entire wall.

Once we finished and got to take a break and mull it all over, it was definitely worth the effort (maybe not so much the bruising) to get to see and feel large the wall is and get a better feel for how the city must have looked during the time when the Silk Road was the major trading route. The sheer size of the city at that time must’ve been a simply awesome sight and the blending of the cultures/dialects as they came together for trade would’ve been something to witness. I was very tired and we were lucky to have the chance for a break after the ride was over. We got back into the van and headed for the Terra Cotta Warriors museum….more on that coming up.